State Grid makes bid for major Australian electricity network

A consortium led by China’s State Grid is among four in a pitched battle over Australian transmission business TransGrid, the sale of which could net the New South Wales government around A$10 billion (US$7.2 billion), The Financial Times reported. While some have tipped the Chinese state-owned firm as a favorite, the contest comes only days after a mainland bidder was barred from buying 100,000 sq km of Australian farmland hosting 185,000 head of cattle. That followed the revelation that the Northern Territory government had leased Darwin port to a Chinese company without a full inspection from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.